Green Hair
by Chouette Blanche
Summary: Just a little something that came to me one day. Connor and Travis Stoll prank Katie Gardner and Travis feels...bad? Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the olympians.


Katie stormed out the Demeter cabin, her hair hidden inside a white sun hat. She was furious and was looking for the two people who were the cause of her anger. One guess who.

She banged on the Hermes cabin's door.

"Connor and Travis Stoll, you get out here this minute!" she shrieked.

The door opened and the twins appeared with identical grins on their faces. Travis's hair was slightly mussed in a way that made Katie's heart skip a beat but she was too angry to comprehend or deny that.

"You put dye in my shampoo?!" the daughter of Demeter hissed.

"Well, to be honest Kates, we thought green hair would suit you." Travis told her, with obvious laughter in his voice.

"Fix it!" she snapped, then as an afterthought added: "And don't call me Kates!"

"Sorry Katie" Connor said, still with a grin on his face "but we can't do anything; you're just gonna have to wait for it to wash out."

"And how long will that take?" Katie Gardner asked, glaring at the sons of Hermes.

"Easily up to a week." the twins said at the same time, grinning so hard they might as well be laughing.

"I can't have green hair for a week!" she shrieked.

Some demigods passing by gave her a few weird looks and she quieted down abruptly.

"This is so not over!" she hissed, stalking off back to her cabin.

"Bye, Kates!" Travis called after her.

She ignored him and kept walking.

"That was brilliant!" Connor exclaimed, grinning at his brother, thumping him on the back.

Travis watched Katie storm away, not paying much attention to Connor.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, that was great." he managed to say though distractedly.

Connor rolled his eyes and went back inside.

Travis saw the gardener girl slam the door to her cabin, and only then did he follow his twin.

At dinner that evening, Katie's hair was still hidden inside her hat and she was glaring at them every time they looked her way.

"If looks could kill." Travis muttered.

"If they could, we'd have died long ago, Trav." Connor replied.

The twins both laughed and Katie clenched her fists.

"What's wrong, Katie?" one of her sisters asked her.

She hesitated but then replied:

"Those two stupid sons of Hermes are laughing their heads off while I'm stuck with green hair. It's just...wrong!"

Her sister smiled.

"Oh, don't you start!" Katie snapped hotly.

The green-haired girl grabbed her plate and went to throw the rest of her meal in the fire for her mother, then left the dining pavilion.

Travis watched her leave then found himself saying goodbye to his twin, dumping his dinner in the fire and following her.

He continued at a distance but walked after her into the woods, further and further away from the camp. The trees were getting closer together and the son of Hermes had no idea what he was doing all the way out here, following a girl who was furious with him.

He lost sight of her for a moment when she slipped between two trees, but he quickly followed and then stopped, astonished.

He was standing on the edge of the most wonderful garden he'd ever seen.

The surrounding trees made it seem like he was in a storybook. There was a small pond on his left with visible pebbles at the bottom, a small path leading to the other side of the clearing and flowers of all types and colours on the right.

Katie had removed her sun hat and was sitting next to the pond, her feet in the water, facing away from him.

The prankster walked silently until he was standing right behind her.

"Hey, Kates." he said, grinning.

"Oh My Gods! Travis!" Katie shrieked, making a bird in a nearby tree fly away.

"What are you doing here?!" she shouted once she'd recovered from the initial shock.

"Just passing by, thought I'd say hello." he said casually.

"Wait, have you been following me?"

"What? No!"

"I can't believe you'd do that!" she said, standing up.

"I haven't!" he protested.

The gardener girl folded her arms.

"Why else would you be this far away from camp? Planning another prank to pull on me already?"

"No! The green-hair thing's pretty awesome as a prank, you've got to admit."

Katie glared at him.

"Okay, wrong crowd."

She rolled her eyes, unfolding her arms.

"I can't believe you followed me all the way out here! As if the hair wasn't enough, you just won't leave me alone!"

"Well, I saw you going off by yourself; these woods are dangerous you know!"

"So you just took it upon yourself to protect me?!"

"No! I'm sure you can protect yourself!"

"What are you doing here then?!"

"I really don't know!"

The daughter of Demeter folded her arms again.

"You don't know?" she said in disbelief.

"No! I saw you leave after dinner looking upset and next thing I know I'm following you through the woods!"

"Wait, you followed me because I looked upset?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Oh...well, yes I am upset, but it's because you and your idiot twin dyed my hair bright green!" she finished, yelling, gesturing to her hair.

"Look, I'm sorry! I didn't know it would affect you so much!" Travis shouted back.

"It's not just that. You and your brother are always playing all sorts of pranks on me, more than on anyone else. Except maybe Lou Ellen."

"Yeah, well. That's because Connor fancies her."

The son of Hermes realized his mistake too late.

Katie's mouth had fallen open and she was staring at him like she'd seen a ghost.

"I, uh, I-I have to go." Travis stammered, almost tripping over himself as he bolted from the garden.

He didn't look back and it was only as he reckoned he was halfway to camp that he stopped suddenly.

He'd unwittingly just admitted to Katie that he fancied her; he hadn't even admitted that to himself before then!

It was true though, and it explained why he always felt a little bad when he pranked her with his mischievous twin.

If he really did like her, why was he running away after announcing his feelings?

That was something idiots did.

Travis knew he was a moron, but idiot was pushing it a little.

Once again, he found his feet leading him back to the clearing.

As he ran, Travis prayed to his dad that she was still there.

He came to the entrance and slipped between the two trees, running into the garden.

Katie was still there, and on hearing him arrive, turned her head to look at him and stood up.

They gazed at each other for a few seconds, and Travis could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he strode across the clearing, cupped her jaw with his hands and kissed her.

He felt happier than ever when she kissed him back.


End file.
